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Castro, Fidel
Cold War Reference Library
Ed. Richard C. Hanes, Sharon M. Hanes, and Lawrence W. Baker. Vol. 3: Biographies Volume 1. Detroit: UXL, 2004.
p82­91. COPYRIGHT 2004 U*X*L, COPYRIGHT 2006 Gale
Full Text: Page 82
Fidel Castro
Born August 13, 1926 Mayarí, Cuba
Cuban president
"If there ever was in the history of humanity an enemy who was truly universal, an enemy whose acts and moves
trouble [and] threaten the entire world … that real and really universal enemy is precisely Yankee imperialism." Fidel Castro. Reproduced by permission of the Corbis Corporation. Cuba's proximity to the United States, only 90 miles (145 kilometers) from the Florida Keys, and its hard­line pro–
Soviet Union communist government led successive U.S. presidential administrations to fear the island, both as a
base for subversive activities throughout the Western Hemisphere and as a platform for a Soviet attack on the United
States. These fears led to the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and American efforts to isolate the
Cuban government and assassinate its leader, Fidel Castro. In the early twenty­first century, Cuba still operated under
communism, a governmental system in which a single political party, the Communist Party, controls nearly all aspects
of society. In a communist economy, private ownership of property and businesses is banned so that goods produced
and wealth accumulated can be shared equally by all.
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Although the Soviet Union never entered into a formal military alliance with Castro, Castro was useful to the Soviets
because his presence challenged U.S. dominance in Latin America. In this sense, Castro's Cuba was an irritant to the
Americans just as West Berlin was to the Soviets. Castro regularly appeared at international meetings, where he
criticized American imperialism, the process of expanding the authority of one government over other nations and
Page 83 | groups of people, and offered aid and encouragement to national liberation movements in the Third World. (Third
World refers to poor underdeveloped or economically developing nations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Many of
these countries were seeking independence from the political control of Western European nations.
A land of opportunity
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was born on his father's farm, "Las Manacas," near the town of Mayarí in the former
province of Oriente. He was the third child of seven born to Lina Ruz Gonzalez and Angel Castro Argiz. Angel was a
Spaniard who fought as a cavalry officer in the Spanish army during the Spanish­American War (1898). This conflict
was an ongoing civil war between Spain, which controlled Cuba at that time, and rebel forces seeking independence
for Cuba. The United States had an interest in ridding Cuba of its Spanish rulers, because it no longer wanted
European influences in the Western Hemisphere. The United States wanted to control or influence resources and
economies for its own benefit and not allow possible growth of influences from abroad. By April 1898,U.S. military
forces were sent in to assist the rebels. Within only a few months, Cuba was liberated from Spanish domination.
After the war, Angel Castro stayed on in Cuba to become a relatively prosperous sugarcane grower. He was a
powerful authoritarian figure who was often in a state of conflict with his young sons. At the age of thirteen, Fidel went
so far as to organize a strike of the workers on his father's plantation. Fidel inherited his father's height, which
contributed to his success as a superior athlete.
Fidel's mother was a very religious woman who had received little education herself. She therefore stressed the
importance of education for her children. She combined warmth and affection with high expectations and a
determination that they would succeed. In 1942, at the age of fifteen, Fidel attended Belen, a Jesuit, or Catholic
missionary, boarding school in Havana that had close ties with Spain. The prestigious school served the nation's upper
class and offered the best education and opportunity in Cuba. From the moment young Fidel arrived at the school, the
Page 84 | faculty singled him out as a boy with exceptional talent and leadership potential.
At Belen, Castro was exposed to the writings of Cuban national hero José Martí (1853–1895). Martí was a towering
figure in Cuban history, a patriot who fought for Cuba's freedom. Like Castro, Martí was the son of an officer in the
Spanish army, the army that opposed the Cuban rebels who fought for independence in the late nineteenth century.
Despite his father's political leanings, José Martí was dedicated to the struggle for an independent Cuba.
The fascist, or dictatorial, views of José Antonio Primo de Rivera (1903–1936) were another significant influence on
Castro. De Rivera fought under Spanish leader Francisco Franco (1892–1975) in order to free Spain from strong
communist and British influences. Like Castro, de Rivera came from a wealthy background, but he had given up an
easy life to fight for what he believed in.
While at Belen, Castro was very active in a Jesuit organization called the "Explorers," which was similar to the Boy
Scouts. They went on rigorous camping trips into rugged mountain areas, and Castro acquired a reputation for
stamina and endurance, eventually becoming the leader of the troop.
Revolution
In 1945, Castro went on to study law at the University of Havana, and it was there that he became involved in politics.
Castro joined the left­wing, or liberal, Cuban People's Party. In 1948, he married Mirta Diaz­Bilart, and they had a son.
Castro graduated with a law degree from the University of Havana in 1950 and set up a law practice in the city.
During most of Castro's early years, Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (1901–1973), an oppressive dictator, a leader who
uses force and terror to maintain control, ruled Cuba. Since 1933, either directly or through others who were leaders in
name only, Batista had been in complete control of the island. Batista's economic policies helped establish such light
industry businesses as canneries and allowed foreign companies, many from the United States, to build their
businesses in Cuba. U.S. corporations dominated the sugar industry, oil production, and other key elements of the
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island's economy. As a result, most of Cuba's wealth was therefore only owned by a small percentage of the
population, meaning most Cuban citizens lived in dire poverty. Cuba was ripe for revolution by the 1950s. Castro, the
handsome, intense young lawyer, proved to be a charismatic leader for the rebel cause.
Castro started organizing a revolution to overthrow Batista. On July 26, 1953, Castro was arrested after leading an
armed assault on the Moncada army barracks in Santiago de Cuba. The attack was a failure, and most of his followers
were killed. Castro conducted his own defense at his trial and used the opportunity as a platform to call for free
elections, land reform, profit sharing, and industrialization. These issues formed the foundation of his revolutionary
movement, and they appealed to many Cubans. Both Castro and his brother, Raúl Castro (1931–), were sentenced to
fifteen years in prison for insurrection, or revolt. They were released under an amnesty, or official forgiveness, program
in 1955. Castro's marriage to Mirta was dissolved that year as well.
Naming a tiny group of rebels the "26th of July Movement," Castro went into exile in Mexico and began to organize an
armed rebellion. The small band of guerrillas, small groups of soldiers specializing in surprise attacks, returned to
Cuba on December 26, 1956, aboard an old 38­foot (12­meter) wooden boat, the Granma, which had been purchased
from an American. Upon landing back at home in Oriente, they encountered government forces and suffered heavy
losses. Castro and eleven others, including his brother Raúl and Argentinian revolutionary leader Ernesto "Che"
Guevara (1928–1967), survived the encounter and escaped to the mountains of the Sierra Maestra on the southeast
end of the island. There they joined allies, all part of a widespread opposition to Batista. Castro began to launch a
military offensive against Batista's Cuban army in the fall of 1958. With his regime collapsing around him and Castro
marching on Havana, Batista fled for the Dominican Republic in the early hours of January 1, 1959. Fidel Castro and
his forces immediately took control of the capital and the country. Castro took the oath of office as premier of Cuba on
February 16, 1959, and became the youngest head of state in the Western Hemisphere.
Page 86 | A new Cuban government
In the immediate aftermath of the overthrow of Batista's government, Castro appeared to be inclined toward a
democratic government. A democratic system of government allows multiple political parties. Members of the different
political parties are elected to various government offices by popular vote of the people. Castro arrived in Washington,
D.C., in April 1959 to begin a goodwill tour of the United States, a staunchly democratic country. In Washington and in
New York City, enthusiastic crowds greeted Castro; he was seen as a democratic reformer, not a communist.
However, after Castro returned to Cuba, it quickly became evident that he was basing his regime on opposition to the
Americans. In May, against the objections of the United States, Castro nationalized, or took control and ownership of,
the sugarcane industry, which had been dominated by an American corporation, the United Fruit Company. He
proceeded to collectivize agriculture, or place control of farmlands under group control in specific areas rather than by
individual ownership. Castro also took over native­ and foreign­owned industry, placing it under the government's
control. Many of the wealthy, property­owning classes fled the country.
The United States was heavily invested in the Cuban economy and had virtually controlled it for decades. Being the
dominant power in Cuba, America had also intervened in Cuban politics to ensure that the Cuban government would
stay friendly to the United States. Castro's policy of transforming Cuba from a capitalist to a socialist society did not sit
well with the United States, which had always had a capitalist economy. In a capitalist economy, property and
businesses are privately owned. Production, distribution, and prices of goods are determined by competition in a
market relatively free of government intervention. In contrast, a socialist economy allows the government to control all
means of production and to set prices.
Castro's new economic policies made Cuba a focal point of the Cold War, an intense political and economic rivalry
between the United States and the Soviet Union that lasted from 1945 to 1991. By September 1959, Castro had
signed trade agreements with the Soviet Union, a communist country. He then signed agreements with the rest of
Eastern Europe and China, all communist nations. Castro was openly critical of the United States and blamed
Page 87 | American imperialism for inflicting economic backwardness on Cuba and the rest of Latin America. U.S. president
Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969; served 1953–61; see entry) responded by imposing trade restrictions on Cuba.
One of the last official diplomatic acts of the Eisenhower administration was the severing of U.S.­Cuban diplomatic
relations. In March 1960, Eisenhower authorized the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to begin training Cuban exiles,
people who had fled Cuba, to participate in a possible attack on Cuba.
The Bay of Pigs
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When President John F. Kennedy (1917–1963; served 1961–63; see entry) took office in January 1961, he inherited
Eisenhower's plan to destabilize the Castro regime. The United States was in the midst of the Cold War with the
communist Soviet Union, and Kennedy did not wish to appear soft on Communism. However, he did not want to put
U.S. forces in danger by staging a full­fledged invasion of Cuba. Kennedy instead authorized a revised, top­secret
plan to carry out a small­scale invasion. On April 17, 1961, the plan was put into action.
The original plan had been to land a large­scale operation at Trinidad, on the southern coast of Cuba. The landing was
switched to a spot about 100 miles (160 kilometers) away, just south of the city of Matanzas, called the Bahía de
Cochinos (Bay of Pigs). The armed force consisted of about fifteen hundred U.S.­trained Cuban exiles. The Cuban
military quickly confronted this small group, and the whole operation collapsed within days. The victory was a major
boost for Castro and a major embarrassment for the Kennedy administration. The invasion provoked demonstrations
against the United States in Latin America and Europe and increased the tensions between the United States and
Cuba. The event also encouraged Castro to seek military ties with the Soviet Union so he could protect his
government against another attack.
A tug of war
Castro's success in maintaining independence from the United States earned him admiration in Latin America and
Page 88 | throughout the Third World. Sporting a beard and dressed in army fatigues, Castro cultivated his image as a
revolutionary hero and guerrilla fighter. Cuba provided military assistance to revolutionary movements in South
America and later in Africa. U.S. presidential administrations sought to isolate Castro's government within the Western
Hemisphere and made it known to other countries that having friendly relations with Castro would be considered an
unfriendly act toward the United States.
American attempts to overthrow Castro shifted from invasion to a covert operation, dubbed Operation Mongoose. The
goal of the top­secret effort, which was directed by the CIA, was to get rid of Castro—via overthrow or assassination.
At least eight attempts were made on Castro's life, a fact revealed in documents released by the U.S. government.
The assassination attempts involved contacts with the Mafia, or secret criminals, to hire hit men to assassinate Castro.
Other attempts involved the use of poisoned cigars, poisoned pills, a poison pen, and a poison­impregnated skin
diving suit. At one time, Castro himself claimed that at least twenty­four CIA­organized attempts had been made on his
life.
Building tensions
Castro reacted to the U.S. hostility by openly describing himself as procommunist in 1961. He established close
political and economic ties with the Soviet Union so that Cuba was aligned with the communist bloc, or group, of
nations. Soviet aid enabled Castro to redistribute wealth in Cuba, introduce a free public health system, expand
educational opportunities, and provide full employment. However, Castro also introduced a Soviet­style political
structure; the Cuban Communist Party was the only legal political party. Press and television were heavily censored,
and most businesses were owned by the state. In exchange for the aid they provided to Cuba, the Soviets hoped to
use Castro's revolutionary enthusiasm to further the cause of communism on an international scale.
In 1962, Castro sent his finance minister, Che Guevara, and his foreign minister, Raúl Castro, to Moscow to negotiate
for Soviet military aid. The Soviets refused to sign a formal military alliance with Cuba; instead they decided to install
nuclear offensive and defensive missiles on the island. This would provide
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Missile erectors and launch stands are visible in this aerial intelligence photograph of Mariel Port Facility in
Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Reproduced by permission of the Corbis Corporation. the Soviets with a strategic military base in the Western Hemisphere and protect Cuba from American attack.
Cuban Missile Crisis
One year after the Bay of Pigs invasion attempt, Kennedy and his advisors began an intensive debate about how to
Page 90 | respond to the informal alliance between Cuba and the Soviet Union. Anxious U.S. leaders doubted that Cuban
communism and the capitalist democracy of the United States could exist peacefully side by side, only 90 miles (145
kilometers) apart. As an added security measure, some 150,000 U.S. reserve troops were ordered to active duty, and
U.S. reconnaissance, or spy, flights over Cuba increased. These flights revealed that the Soviet Union had started
building launching pads for offensive ballistic missiles at San Cristóbal. Then intelligence reports revealed that twenty­
five Soviet ships, carrying a cargo of ballistic missiles, had recently left ports on the Black Sea bound for Cuba. They
were expected to reach the Caribbean within ten days. This left President Kennedy just over a week to decide his
course of action. The only certain military solution would be a full­scale assault on Cuba. But such an attack could be
used by the Soviets to justify a similar attack on West Berlin, the stronghold of Western influence in Eastern Europe. In
short, Kennedy thought that military action at this point might well lead to World War III.
President Kennedy and his advisors decided to use a naval blockade around Cuba. Because blockades were against
international law, they called the blockade a "quarantine." The purpose of the quarantine was to prevent the Soviet
ships carrying the missiles from reaching Cuba; the United States wanted to give Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev
(1894–1971; see entry) time to reconsider his actions. Khrushchev quickly recognized that he was in an impossible
situation: If he moved against West Berlin, he would face nuclear retaliation. If he completed and used the missile
bases already in Cuba, his fate would be no different. If he simply left the missiles already in place in Cuba, the United
States would invade Cuba and the Soviet Union would lose its communist foothold in the Western Hemisphere. If he
tried to break the blockade, the result would be a direct Soviet­American military confrontation, which could quickly
escalate out of control. Khrushchev therefore opted to negotiate with the United States, and ultimately the Soviets
removed their missiles from Cuba. Castro was left out of the negotiations entirely.
The Cuban Missile Crisis frightened the leaders of both the Soviet Union and the United States. It led both countries to
move toward easing international tensions in order to avoid a repeat of the event. In the months immediately following
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the crisis, the two countries established the Washington­Moscow Hot Line, and in August 1963 they signed the first
Limited Test­Ban Treaty, which banned nuclear bomb testing in the atmosphere, in outer space, or underwater.
Home front
Although Cuba retained its political independence, the Cuban economy came to depend on billions of dollars in Soviet
aid. Soviet support eventually began to drop off, and by 1985, when Mikhail Gorbachev (1931–; see entry) came into
power in the Soviet Union, Castro was forced to reduce his expenditures. As the Cuban economy worsened, Castro's
government increased food and gasoline rationing, or limited distribution. After a thirty­year absence, Cuba was given
a seat in the United Nations Security Council on January 1,1990. However, in Cuba, there were signs of discontent
with Castro's government. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Cuba entered a crisis period. In need of
foreign financial assistance to relieve the economic depression, Castro's regime began to promote tourism and open
the country up to foreign investment. In 1991, Castro coauthored a book with South African leader Nelson Mandela
(1918–). It was titled How Far We Slaves Have Come: South Africa and Cuba in Today's World. Castro remains a
symbol of the Cuban Revolution and continues to lead Cuba in the twenty­first century.
For More Information
Books
Bourne, Peter G. Fidel: A Biography of Fidel Castro. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1986.
Fursenko, Aleksandr, and Timothy Naftali. "One Hell of a Gamble": Khrushchev, Castro, and Kennedy, 1958–1964.
New York: W. W. Norton, 2000.
Huchthausen, Peter A., and Alexander Hoyt. October Fury. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, 2002.
Leonard, Thomas M. Castro and the Cuban Revolution. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1999.
Quirk, Robert E. Fidel Castro. New York: Norton, 1993.
Szulc, Tad. Fidel: A Critical Portrait. New York: Morrow, 1986.
Source Citation (MLA 7th Edition) "Castro, Fidel." Cold War Reference Library. Ed. Richard C. Hanes, Sharon M. Hanes, and Lawrence W. Baker. Vol. 3:
Biographies Volume 1. Detroit: UXL, 2004. 82­91. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.
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